And there was light

Neon has illuminated Times Square and the Moulin Rouge, sold sex
and slot machines, hot dogs and gods, hopes and dreams, even
advertised vacancies at the Bates Motel. But its aura is fading.
Piccadilly Circus lost its last neon sign in 2011: LED is the new
king.

Neon has a saviour, however, and he wears an electric-white
halo. In his East London workshop/junkyard (pictured),
Chris Bracey conjures fantastic creations from glass and gas. He
began in the 1970s with signs for Soho strip clubs ('I was the
first to use "Girls, girls, girls",' he says. 'Up to then it was
just "Girls"'), then worked on the film Mona Lisa.

He's collaborated with Stanley Kubrick and David LaChapelle, and
recently made an Art Deco installation for Chloé's show at the Palais de Tokyo. 'I
call neon the dark art of light because it's often made at night.
It's only when you put 10,000 volts through that it comes to life.
It reminds me of being a boy and your dad turning on the
Christmas-tree lights; I still get that incredible feeling of joy
when they're on.'